Comstock Metals continues to expand its operations

Comstock Metals LLC has secured a site to store end-of-life solar panels in central Ohio that can be expanded into an industry-scale recycling and processing facility, according to a news release from the company, a subsidiary of Comstock Inc., headquartered in Virginia City, Nevada.

Comstock Metals previously announced that it received its Written Determination Permit from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection Bureau of Sustainable Materials Management for the processing of end-of-life solar panels and photovoltaics at its industry-scale processing facility in Silver Springs, Nevada, and secured a satellite storage and prepping facility in Central Valley, California, this January.

“As the volume of end-of-life solar panels expands across the country and grows into the tens and hundreds of millions, our ability to scale responsibly and efficiently across the country delivers real sustainability—and peace of mind—to our customers and partners,” says Corrado De Gasperis, executive chairman and CEO of Comstock Inc. “Our team is setting the standard for solar panel recycling across an expanding, fully integrated national network.”

The Ohio location further strengthens Comstock Metals’ growing national recycling network and is strategically positioned to serve customers throughout Ohio and broader Midwest—one of the larger and centrally located solar markets in the country, the company says. The site will function as a centralized hub for the collection, preparation, storage and aggregation of decommissioned photovoltaic (PV) solar panels and ultimately will expand into processing as the market grows.

The central Ohio facility is designed to directly support solar manufacturers, developers, utilities, engineering and construction firms, installers, decommissioners and asset owners by providing a local, reliable solution for managing retired PV panels, where valuable materials, including aluminum, silver, copper, gallium and other metals are recovered and repurposed, the company says.

“Establishing a facility in central Ohio allows us to directly support the Midwest region’s growing end-of-life panel disposal needs while providing a logistically efficient solution that keeps costs low for our customers,” says Fortunato Villamagna, president of Comstock Metals. “Our mission is to close the loop on solar energy by ensuring panels at the end of their useful life are managed responsibly and their critical materials are fully repurposed.”

Comstock Metals also is finalizing the permit application and subsequent submission plans for its second integrated, industry-scale Nevada location, with final location selection occurring later this year.